By Jacob Norling
November 6, 2023
 
(LA MIRADA, Calif.) For the second time this season Westmont Volleyball and the Biola Eagles played to five sets, but this time, it was the Warrior's rivals that got the last laugh. Biola claimed the first two sets of the night, but after Westmont took sets three in four in dominant fashion, the match was up for grabs in the fifth set.
 
After a fast start in set five, however, the Eagles never looked back as they successfully held off the Warriors to send their crowd home happy.

"It was a roller coaster of a game, but I'm happy we didn't throw the towel in after set two," said Westmont head coach Ruth McGolpin. "We fought hard. Individually, Sara Krueger was on fire, again. 42 attempts with 20 kills is pretty spectacular."
 
The two sides played neck-and-neck as the first set entered the teens, with neither side gaining so much as a two-point lead. When Biola did finally take a two-point advantage at 14-12, McGolpin was quick to call Westmont's first timeout.
 
Strong serving by Phoebe Minch did allow Westmont to tie it at point, but once again Biola began to stretch their advantage. Eventually, a pair of kills by the Eagles followed by a Westmont attacking error led to McGolpin's final timeout with the Warriors trailing 21-18. The stoppage did little to solve things in the first set, as Biola utilized a trio of Westmont attacking errors followed by a kill to claim game one 25-18.
 
As the second entered double-digits the Eagles collected consecutive kills that pushed their early advantage to 11-5. However, back-to-back kills and a block by Sara Krueger capped off a six-point run that allowed the Warriors to knot things at 11. Westmont later on trailed 19-16, but a pair of kills from Minch and an ace from Alexa Shiner saw the Warriors tie things up again.
 
Following Biola's final timeout the Eagles regrouped to tally consecutive kills, which then led to McGolpin using Westmont's last stoppage. Down 21-19, Westmont again succumbed to a late surge by the Eagles, dropping the second set 25-20 to fall into a deep hole.
 
A kill by Minch started game three, soon after followed by another from Alexis Dennick, which led to an early Biola timeout with the home team trailing 4-0. The Warriors held off the Eagles as the set entered double-digits, but when consecutive Biola kills made it a 13-11 game, Westmont elected to use their first timeout. Following the stoppage, kills from Krueger and Dennick bookended an immediate three-point swing, forcing a Biola timeout with Westmont leading by five (16-11). This time, Westmont was the team maintaining their distance in the end, as the Warriors forced a fourth set with a 25-20 win.
 
Westmont carried their momentum early into the fourth set, with a kill from Taylor Distelberg leading to a Biola timeout with the Warriors leading 8-4. Westmont never slowed down in the fourth, and spent the remainder of the set flirting with a double-digit lead. With Westmont leading 22-13, a kill from Jessie Terlizzi got the club to a two-digit lead at 23-12, and moments later, a block by Distelberg gave Westmont the 25-15 win.
 
Things did not start promising in the fifth set for Westmont, as Biola used a pair of kills and a pair of Westmont errors to immediately lead 4-0. Out of a Westmont timeout the Eagles scored once more before allowing Westmont a tally, but it took multiple possessions for Westmont to scratch another point across.
 
When the two teams switched sides, Biola led Westmont 8-3, and an Eagle kill later forced McGolpin to call her final timeout with Westmont trailing 9-3. Much like in sets one and two, the Eagles raced to the finish line once it got in sight, and eventually, Biola won the match with a 15-7 win in set five.

"In set five, they just took it to us, stated McGolpin. "Still, the girls fought and I'm proud of the way they did. We're excited to get back on the road and play a tough APU team on Thursday."
 
The Warriors continue a week filled with rivalry contests on Thursday night, when they once again travel south, this time to take on the Azusa Pacific Cougars. First serve is scheduled for 6:00 p.m., and links to live coverage are available on the Westmont Athletics website.